My Vista Experience

I now have a few machines running Microsoft Vista, and after sufficient testing in the "real world" have come to many conclusions. If you want to have a machine that works, and faster on the hardware with no apologies get Vista Business. Flat out faster, and more stable on my old P4 laptop than XP with the native drivers from Toshiba. The only reason I uninstalled and put XP back on the laptop is the screen was never bright enough in Vista. The laptop has a light sensor that determines the correct brightness for the screen, but because Toshiba never released drivers for Vista the screen was constantly at the bottom of the possible lumens. The brightness could not be turned up because the keyboard function keys where not supported without drivers, so I was stuck with a laptop that didn't support an external monitor, that was too dim for low light browsing, but was about 1.5x's faster than it was running XP.


Other than the speed difference I pretty much never noticed what OS I was in (I run a browser 90% so who cares).

parents sold and bought a house

Never do I find that I have to ply my trade more than when my parents need something. They sold their house and now for the new one wanted some of the really neat things I have been boasting I could do. Should be interesting, I am looking for a multi-zone smart receiver, 46"+ LCD TV and trying to be patient and wait for Vista to put in a media center server. On top of that I am trying to setup the wireless so that it covers seamlessly 4500 sq ft and a shop across the way, with exactly one wireless access point so that once connected you could roam the whole house and maybe part of the 5 acres.

They are hoping against hope that their won't have only dish as an option for tv and Internet, but the number of dual-LNB dishes in the area make me suspect that is not the case. I traced the leads off the dish and confirmed that two run to the office one in and one out to feed back to a splitter. And to the cable tech that did the hack job on the side of a very nice house I give a big FU, I will have to put up a box just so I don't have to look at the damn thing for the next few years... Blah.

On an even more depressing note, a quick call to Verizon(local service provider) and no DSL to that location. If they don't offer it, I would be very surprised to find and any resellers are out there. The house has two telephone lines lines terminated in the service box, and I am pretty sure that it wasn't just for a fax (second line in the office is labeled "I"). And a call to Time Warner Cable (formerly Adelphia) and my parents house wasn't on their map(other houses on the road where). I requested a locate service, and have my fingers crossed that someone somewhere has them covered for broadband ("the majority" of citizens covered with 3 options my ass Mr. FCC chairman).

They may not yet be resigned to a life of slow data at really high prices, I believe that have edge coverage in the area, (my tmobile smartphone did with full bars even in the basement of their house) so that my be the next best thing (stompbox here we come).

In the end, I am have a lot of research and most likely work to be done to get my parents up and running. Here's hoping for Vista, and Time Warner to come through.

Tags: Wireless Internet FCC Vista Meida Center Convictus Home Life